Weblog

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

  • life goes on

    well, life is still going on here in El Alto.  The busses are still crowded, men still pee in random and very public places and it still gets on my nerves, there are still cute Bolivian babies, friends that shine shoes, friends to share lunch with, yummy coffee in the morning, mountains to marvel at, places in El Alto where I discover awesome views of the valley, yummy meals to eat (I made a killer shepherd's pie yesterday), I still like to go to bed at 9 PM, Heather's chair is still comforting, sunny days are still pretty, amazing sunsets still amaze me, beautiful prayers are still heard,  the presence of One much greater than myself is still felt, I'm surrounded with grace and LOVE. 

    Here is a prayer I came across the other day that I really like:

    I beg you to keep me in this silence so that I may learn from it
      the word of your peace
      and the word of your mercy
      and the word of your gentleness to the world;
      and that through me perhaps the word of peace may make itself heard
      where it has not been possible for anyone to hear it for a long time
    -Thomas Merton

Tuesday, 06 October 2009

  • it's the small things.

    These are the small things that have made me happy this week:
    1.  Real letters in the mail from dear friends (hint, hint--send me a letter)
    2.  Greeting the neighbors downstairs on my way upstairs and getting chilean mate on my way in from the cold.
    3.  Randomly getting lunch from our amazing landlord.
    4. Good chats and lots of giggles with one of the IJM interns
    5.  Friends paying bus fare for you
    6.  Morning talks over coffee (me) and cider (roommate) in the kitchen with a great roommate
    7.  Skype conversations
    8.  Hearing laughter and singing from two girls who are free
    9.  Art classes
    10.  Music to  listen to on the bus when the bus music is O-B-N-O-X-I-O-U-S--currently my musical companions are Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan, Patti Griffin, Kings of Leon and Ascend the Hill. 
    11. Grace and Mercy
    12.  Heidi P. is coming to see me next week!!!!
    13. Casa de Esperanza anniversary
    14.  Community

    I will soon be making a list of things that should be banned, one of those being carrying an mp3 player without headphones (especially on the bus). 
     

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

  • adventures in hiring

    I wrote this last week and wanted to share a bit of what life is like here sometimes:

    So today we needed to hire somebody to carry all the rubish leftover from the wall bashing that the bricklayers did.  So, my co-worker and I ventured out to the back side of the Ceja to find a willing man.  Did we ever!!!! We walked along the street where we knew the men who wanted work were standing (if you live in Nashville picture the corner of Thompson and Murfreesboro road at aroudn 8 AM with all the latinos looking for work).  One man finally asked us what we needed and we told him....well in a matter of 2 seconds we had every man in the vicinity around us (at least 20 men)...invading our personal space offering to help us.  I was almost in tears at one point, because I didn't know what to do.  I eventually told all the men wasn't going to hire any of them and walked away with my co-worker.  There were a few insistant friends and we ended up hiring 2 guys after getting chased by two others who offered a higher price.  It was a bit overwhelming.  They got the job done after a lot of complaining about the 4 flights of stairs, bla bla bla.

Saturday, 19 September 2009

  • Currently
    Only by the Night
    By Kings of Leon
    see related

    in my kitchen

    I'm sitting on a little red bench in my kitchen. I have a living room and my room that I could be sitting in, but for some reason the kitchen on the little red bench has been the choice spot right now.  It's warm in here too (60 F). 
    I stopped by the Ceja (central part of El Alto) to get some veggies this afternoon.  I was talking to Cara (roommate) the other day about how stressful the Ceja can be most of the time.  It is a prime spot to get pick pocketed, it's loud and you have to find the street where the food is or soap or paper or sunglasses.  There are like a million venders trying to lure you to buy a calculator, scrub brushes, bread, English lessons or some natural herb. 
    Another reason I  think the Ceja is stressful is because I think there is a spiritual oppression that lies in the Ceja more so than most of El Alto.  When I go through the Ceja I'm usually reminded of the struggle that the El Alto folk have living here.  From the men and boys who shine shoes to the ladies who sell vegetables.  El Alto is a poor city and life isn't easy for the poor. I'm faced with the desperate poverty when I walk through the Ceja.  I think it's emotionally draining too because I'm trying to listen to the Spirit and discern how to love the people that I see in the moment and respond to the needs that I see as Christ would ask me to respond. 

    It's also an adventure to go to the Ceja.  It is always an adventure for me to find the best deal and I have figured out my favorite lemon salesman, the lady I buy veggies from (most of the time) and where to get cilantro.  It's a good feeling to know that I'm starting to learn my way around the HUGE market. 

    I just finished reading The Hungering Dark by Fredrick Buechner.  It's one of the top five books I've read.  I love his beautiful words and his understanding of the human condition.  I will post more thoughts on that later. 

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

  • my last reason

    Well, I didn't end up going through the million and one reasons why I love Nashville.  Now, I'm in El Alto and I want to finish up the list with one of my favorite parts of Nashville....my church....City Church of East Nashville.  I started going to CCEN in 2005.  I was somewhat burnt out by church and CCEN was meeting on Sunday  nights.  It was an oasis for me.  We were going through Romans at that time and I remember really grasping the concept of grace as a result of the sermons. I loved reciting the apostles creed every Sunday. I loved the music. I loved the times of silent and corporate confession. I loved coming to the table.  I love the rhythm of worship at CCEN and I love the family that I have at CCEN.  I saw different parts of City Church on benevolence team and our monthly prayer meetings. I had so many encouraging conversations with friends from CCEN as I was leaving Nashville to come to Bolivia.  I wrote in my newsletter about how I left Nashville with a full cup and a huge part of that was the support I sensed from City Church.  It was such a joy to be a part of such a beautiful body of broken, yet hopeful people.